Ranking Every Tengen Published Sega Genesis Game 

More ranking videos here bit.ly/3nL5Yol

Gauntlet IV had some of the best music I've ever heard on any 16 bit system. Great game.

I used to love Pit Fighter. Even as a kid, you could practically smell the stale beer and BO in the game. It was my way to experience gritty nightlife in my childhood bedroom.

I remember renting Awesome Possom back in the day! We actually liked the game too but I guess back then any new game you could get ahold of was fun! haha

I remember renting KLAX back in the day from my local rental store and used to hate it because of me not knowing how to properly play it. Now that I'm older and with a better understanding of it, it's one of my favorite puzzle games on the Genesis.

Thank you for all the content... always great.

Did you know that Dr. Machino was the first credited role of Doug Lawrence: The voice actor of Plankton from Spongebob.

Gauntlet 4 has one of my favorite OST's on the Sega Genesis. The OST is even done by the guys who did the music for Final Fantasy Tactics.

Hi John, hi everyone " Always cool seeing new Retro games ", :)

The new format plays a lot better. The other videos were always enjoyable but this has a better sense of progression and feels like it's building to something

Dude that Snow Brothers game looks awesome

Rampart was one I rented constantly. Absolutely loved that game. The new format is great! Happy to see you freshen it up without doing a complete overhaul.

The format is cool. I agree about ROADBLASTERS. That's one of the best arcade to 16bit conversions of that era. Excellent. Tengen was at their best in the Genesis

I've always thought it was funny that the sound test in Dragon's Revenge is missing the some of the dragon's sound samples (the ones where she gets hit). They knew what those moans sounded like!

Paperboy and Gauntlet series are just iconic and some of my favorite arcade games of all time. I love almost all of the home console ports of them, even if they weren't that good, lol.

I miss Round Table pizza nights!! Great Games, Great Pizza!

Hey John, I like the new format much better. The gameplay footage is more immersive when it's full screen, and I'm sure it makes it easier to edit narration. Great video.

Obviously, it has not aged well and it doesn't have the polygon count or the framerate of the arcade version but Hard Drivin' running on the Genesis at a semi-decent framerate and without an extra 3D processor chip like the Genesis port of Virtua Racing had is still an amazing accomplishment and I was very impressed by it as a teenager.

Love these ranking videos you do John.

I like the new ranking system showing worst to best. Please continue to do this same system in future videos.

Good video and ranking of the Tengen Games for the Sega Genesis! Thee are a few that I will have to look out for! Enjoying this kinds of videos!

When I got my first game system it was a Saga Genesis model 2 on my 8th birthday it came packed in with Sonic 2 and my mother also bought me a second controller and one additional game Ms. Pac-man and my uncle and I had a lot of fun playing it and I still play it to this day. Great video I will give Gauntlet IV a try it looks like it could be fun. 👍

I really like these style of videos John, good work.

I definitely prefer this format, and congrats for this! And the S-tier chosen games are indeed great and I agree with that!

The music in Gauntlet 4 was made by Hitoshi Sakimoto: The composer of FF12 & the FF Tactics games.

I always think of NES Shinobi and Klax when I think of Tengen.❤️

Great video as always

Great vid, one small comment, I would love to see these in chronological order so we can see the company's progression. Either way, I'm loving the series, thanks for making it!

Thanks John. I clean forgot some of these existed. I always wanted to play Snow Brothers.

Gauntlet 4 is a fantastic game, the music is fantastic and the different modes are a blast, playing battle mode with 3 other friends is a blast too!

I really enjoy the format on this one being game focused, much more immersive. One suggestion I have is to show off the case when you start talking about them before cutting to game play. I'm always fascinated to see the cases and games in all their glory especially since you own them all! I love how your content is maturing John! You are the real wonderful and beautiful human!

Thanks John. I had my genesis back in the day but I didn’t know ms pacman had co op play. Going to play that this weekend with the wife. Great videos with the different publishers. Great idea!

Nice format and great thoughts shared

Hello John love the ranking videos, your knowledge on so many games and seeing your amazing collection you have put together. I remember getting (Awesome Possum kicks DR. Machino's butt) from KB toys when it was fairly new in the 90's and actually enjoyed it greatly with lots replayability when my collection wasn't very large, after beating Sonic and playing it for far to many hours. Wish I still had my original copy, I'll have to pick it up again sometime and see what I think now but sure I'll still love it due to a nostalgia overload. Also loved Rampart, I'll have to check out a few of the others on your list now. Great demeanor and presentation you're my favorite amongst your friends doing the classic video game RU-vid videos just thought I'd let you know. Have an awesome day and keep on keeping on, life's a garden Dig It.

Great video, John!

Finally paperboy 2 gets some love I thought it was more better and funner then the first game and I love the obstacle course in this one

Best one of these yet John 👍

Love your Genesis videos. Here we go!

Great stuff John keep it up bud

I'm so glad to see Road Blasters. What a port, it runs superbly and plays fantastically well! Great list, you got yourself a subscriber sir :)

Love the new format!

Awesome Possum kicks Dr. Machino's butt! This was one of mine and my daughter's favorite games. Every once in a while just to mess with people, we'd sing the theme song out of nowhere. Sorry you didn't like it. There was quite a bit of game here, and while the controls were not the best, hard core gamers learned to adapt to all controller operations.... granted, not always successfully, but you get my drift. :D Subscribed, by the way. I really like your pleasant and personable delivery.

The top tier of this list is quite amazing. Regarding Dragon's Fury, you just can't go wrong when it has that Techonosoft's sound and graphics wizardry. You just can't help but be mesmerized by what's on screen! Thumbs up, John! Keep up the great work!

You should do a rating video like this but for controllers for the systems. I'd watch it. Also I'd love to come see your collection one day, you and Metal Jesus'.

Excellent viewing as ever John thank you, the reviews as a whole I find very fair. Although we all have our favourites I cannot see you agreeing with one of my favorite games 'Heavyweight Champ' being a solid S when you review it, brilliant that the final boss is Butterbean himself :)

Another wonderful Genesis ranking video - and a quick Slap Fight tidbit! For anyone unaware, Slap Fight MD includes two entirely different games. In addition to the port of the original Slap Fight / Alcon arcade game, it includes "Slap Fight MD" - an exclusive 16-bit upgrade to the original game, featuring new graphics; new mechanics; and an incredible soundtrack by legendary composer Yuzo Koshiro. It's an absolute must-play, in our opinion. Unfortunately, authentic copies of the game are quite expensive; however, it is included on the Japanese version of the Mega Drive Mini, along with several other Japanese exclusives. Well worth checking out! Keep up the great work, John! It's great to see such an in-depth look at the library for our favorite console!

I'm having a lot of fun watching these

yes! love these vids =)

From what I can recall, I had Rampart and Pit Fighter. My excuse? I really liked the arcade game and so when a birthday came around, my mom said she was at the mall, at Software Etc. (remember that store? wayyyy pre-eb games!) asking the guy what games from her list they had in stock when she saw the Pit Fighter box. In mom's head went a 'click!', as in "Oh yah, I know that one. Darren likes that arcade game." Hard Drivin', I believe I rented once or something, because I know I've played it, but I didn't own it. Thanks for your videos, John! Keep it up! :-D

I had Ms. Pac man and Hard Drivin' on Sega as a kid!

Never knew of Road Blaster. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, I really loved the game. Kind of like Spy Hunter 3!

I got a Genesis for my birthday one year, and it came with Sonic 2 and Gauntlet 4. Sonic 2 was the game I wanted a Genesis for in the first place, but I'd never heard of Gauntlet 4 - my dad just wanted to include another game and thought the cover looked like something I'd like. Man was he right. I spent pretty much the entirety of that birthday playing Gauntlet 4 with my best friend, who is STILL my best friend nearly 30 years later. Awesome times. Roadblaster was one of the first games I ever played in the arcade, back in the late 80s in France. I was so impressed by the graphics and the speed, as the only games I'd seen up to that point were on the Commodore 64. The Genesis port is great, and I think it's one of the best driving games on the Genesis. It has smooth scrolling, which is surprisingly rare for Genesis racing games (just look at Chase H.Q. 2 or the utter abomination that is the Genesis port of Turbo Outrun), and gives that same amazing sense of speed that so impressed me in the arcade game. Totally agree with your S-tier picks.

Technosoft programmed Dragon's Fury and it's a really good pinball game. Grindstormer is a great overlooked shooter. Road Blasters is an outstanding port. The frame rate is excellent. Just missing a few things from the arcade like voice. It seems like Tengen gets a bad rap, but their output on the Genesis was high quality overall.

This video made my day. Appreciate Grind Stormer recommend.

Tengen had some classic games. I'll have to look for some of those titles.

I expected Awesome Possum to be in the F tier… You did not disappoint. The only good thing about that game is the fact that Doug Lawrence, the voice of Plankton and Filburt the Turtle, voiced Dr. Machino.

Love these ranking videos for the Genesis. I played many of the games on these lists, but am still finding out about games i have never heard of. Keep it up! On a side not for this video. I play-tested Roadblasters for the Genesis, back when I was in 7th grade. lol

I spent many hours playing R.B.I. 94 as a kid. I love that game! It'd be cool to see you do this sort of thing (or maybe just a worst of list) by LJN hah

Great video John, I was a atari lynx fanboy at the time. But later love these games on the Genesis and have to admit now they look much better on the Genesis.

I like the faster presentation, but a shot of the box art would be nice.

Loved the video! I'd say the only negative about ranking from worst to best is you know if the game is crap or awesome right away. I liked the randomness of it before, but in the end, these ranking videos are awesome either way you do them! Looking forward to the next one!

The Hard/Race Drivin series is a guilty pleasure. It's a challenge just to complete a single lap but that's half the fun.

Great video, John. I love the worst to best format and you're spot on with everything. I always loved Rampart but was horrible at it. Curious as to what your all-time favorite baseball game is.

True story: I played RoadBlasters so much and got so good with the Genesis control, that when I went camping with my family in the late 90's and there was an RB machine in the arcade, I put the high score on the machine by starting immediately with the highest level you could pick at the beginning and getting the bonus points!

Man, I cannot believe you ranked Pit Fighter so low. Was literally arcade perfect other than graphics. Not a bad game at all. Other than Pit Fighter, great list and I dig the format. I found Roadblasters on Genesis to be fantastic as well. Tengen were great and I miss them.

Thanks for doing tengen. Agree with all of it.

I know it was published after Tengen's acquisition by Time Warner Interactive, but they developed a certain college basketball game for the Genesis. Which, as far as I heard, was quite awesome, baby.

When I think of Tengen I think how we never got them in Australia on NES, but we did get HES, that published many tengen games along with others. My fave is the HES release of Chiller, which I have in the first version with a dongle attached to plug your piggy back cart into. The nice thing is the dongle is maroon plastic, the cart is black, just an interesting titbit. This is before the piggy back straight to cart, and well before the self contained bootleg. I love it.

I love these videos

Don’t forget to try the remix mode of Slap Fight! It brings it into the 16-bit era and is hidden away in the options menu. Happy to see Roadblasters get S tier btw. My favorite port of that game.

Glad you gave Ms. Pac-Man an A. I didn't own but maybe a couple or a few Tengen games for the Genesis but Ms. Pac-Man I kept coming back to. Loved the Strange stages and the odd prizes (including the Klax hand!).

Steel Talons was one of the first games I got for my Genesis back in the day. So it has a special place in my heart. And I actually beat that game when I first got it. So of course I bought it again a year ago or so. Because I had to have it again. Yeah it hasn't aged well, but I still love to play it. lol And I had no idea RoadBlasters was that good on the Genesis! One of my favorite arcades growing up. And boy did I pop the quarters in that game back then. lol

Your S tier picks is legit.

Grind Stormer aka VV is a lovely chunky shooter. Always down with the toaplan graphical vibe. Also M2 strutting their early day stuff with Gauntlet 4 port. Straight out the gate showing their class.

Skate country was the shit, we went there for our last day of school field trip from 2nd grade till 4th it was great!

my favorite of Tengen games was been Snow Brothers,Hard Drivin and Road Blasters who is only games who always play on NES and Sega Genesis

Hi, Mr. John........ I have spend lots of hours hours hours hours playing PIT FIGHTER... I'm 46 , and I LOVE this cartridge Génesis I was the killer in the neibourhood playing PIT FIGHTER... BEST PORT PISS*NG ON SNES CARTRIDGE... What a MASTER PIECE... 🙌🏻

I may be in the minority, but I enjoy the original ranking format. Still a great video!

Gauntlet IV is awesome. Also Rampart, Grind Stormer and both Paperboy games get a fair amount of my attention as well.

Rampart is an awesome game! Definitely worth trying as it is an absolute blast to play, especially vs. play! ,🎮👍

i like the older format all though, when its kinda random and not from worst to best, just my thoughts atleast, keep up the great work!

Liked and sub'd because of this video.

I've got a loose copy of Gauntlet IV and I love it! But I've never heard of Slap Fight! I'll have to check that out!

All the home versions of Hard Drivin are very disappointing. I loved the arcade game.

Not to do with the Mega Drive but you know how everyone hated the Master System box arts? I always thought they had a unique charm to them that you don’t get anywhere else 😊

Surprised how many above average games they produced, maybe I just bought the wrong ones 🤷‍♂️

Yes this is a great way to rank video games.😀

I found Road Blasters at my local used game store last year and I do enjoy it. However, I am slightly surprised that it's ranked that high at the S level, but yes, it's still an all around good game. I do enjoy the Paperboy games and they are my favorites here. I definitely understand the lower rankings of them as the controls and such, are not the best. I should dig up my old Tiger handheld of Paperboy that's hiding somewhere. Kinda miss playing that, lol.

Gauntlet 4 isn't actually a port it started as an internal training project by a group of programmers that would become M2. It was based entirely on reverse engineering the arcade cab. Tengen caught wind of this somhow and after being shown their work offered to publish it if they added more content. To reiterate, everything in the Genesis version was purely done by eyeballing the original arcade cab, they had no access to the source code or assets and yet managed to duplicate everything perfectly right down to the RNG and enemy logic.

Is there any kind of steering wheel you can use with Roadblaster? I'd only ever seen screen shots of it on the megadrive, but it looks pretty much spot on to the arcade.

Personally I prefer the anticipation of progression from this format over the randomness of other methods. Chronologically can be good to but idk, this just felt right, knowing that the best was always yet to come.

steel talons is not a D is a G. Great video

I absolutely love Klax! In my humble opinion i'd say the best home version is the Sega Genesis version (followed by the Amiga version), and the best portable version is the Atari Lynx (followed by the GBA). I don't recommend the NES, Game Gear, and Master System versions of Klax because of a bizarre design choice within the drop box - there is a weird amount of extra space between the outermost landing slots and the actual sides of the drop box. There's also not always a very smooth movement of tiles as they flip down the lane toward the drop box, especially on the game gear version where the tiles actually slightly go outside of their lane before abruptly shifting back into their lane.

The best part of Hard Drivin' for me was making the cow moo.

Love Dragon's Fury and Revenge (Fury does indeed edge out its sequel overall). Klax is my favorite puzzle game of all time. The Genesis port of Klax was actually ported by the original arcade game's programmer. It's definitely the best overall port of the game, but I think the TG16 version actually looks nicer and has a richer color palette.

I remember the Hard Drivin games from the Sega Channel.

Barney Stinson hates Slap Fight.

awesome possum was one of my favs. Guess when its your only game it doesnt matter how bad it is.

Is Hard Driving related to the Test Drive series for PC? The graphics in both have a very similar style (including the cracked window effect when you crash).

I love Xevious. Slap Fight looks like my jam